Request made to move Fort Smith polling site that is home to a candidate

Candidate for the Fort Smith city director Ward 3 position Lee Kemp on Thursday (Sept. 19) requested Forefront Church on Jenny Lind Road be removed as a polling place for the Nov. 5 election. Kemp is the lead pastor at the church and lives in the church basement.

Amanda Cravey, Sebastian County Election Coordinator, said her office had received the formal request to remove the polling place. The Sebastian County Election Commission (SCEC) is considering next steps, she said.

“We will be scheduling a meeting for the commissioners to review the potential options to make an official vote. The meeting will be communicated in a Media Notification once we have the date and times,” Cravey said.

The two other candidates for the Ward 3 seat on the Fort Smith Board are Russell Bragg and Carl Nevin. The position is held by Lavon Morton, who announced earlier this year he would not seek reelection.

The Sebastian County Election Commission received a complaint about the polling place early this week because Kemp and his family live at the church. Kemp said that though the location has historically been one of the primary polling places for Ward 3 and he believes this decision may negatively impact his election, he believes it is the right move to make.

Kemp, who initially told the commission the church was “happy to host” a polling site, changed his stance when it became public that the church was also his residence.

“I believe leaders should be above reproach and seek to be blameless in their character,” Kemp said in a statement regarding the request to remove the site as a polling location. “As a leader, I cannot allow any elected official or other candidate for office to tarnish the reputation of my church, my family, or myself. A solution has to be found to avoid continued public outbursts, potential legal disputes, or contested election outcomes.”

In a statement, Kemp said a local news media outlet made public information about his residency, but that information was first provided by Kemp with his candidate filing, then included in the complaint filed with the election commission, and also made public at a Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting.